


Taking Comfort

by Fandomcentral



Category: Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Episode: s02e15 Revelations, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Protect Spencer reid, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Protective Derek Morgan, Protective Emily Prentiss, Protective JJ, Spencer Reid Gets a Hug, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Spencer Reid Whump, all relationships are implied, can be read as platonic, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27664715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomcentral/pseuds/Fandomcentral
Summary: After Spencer's ordeal with Tobias Hankel it's recommended that he not be left alone. Cue the team converging on his house to take care of their resident genius. Lots of cuddles and the team actually talking about their feelings.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid, Everyone/Everyone, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid/Everyone
Comments: 8
Kudos: 217





	Taking Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've written since middle school and I wrote it in 2 hours at 2 am when I had to work the next day. When I wrote it I planned on it being multiple chapters with this happening with different members of the team but we will see if that happens. It can be read just by its self. I think I got all the typos but if i missed any just point them out and I'll fix them. Thanks for reading :)

The first time it happened was after the Tobias Hankle case. At the hospital the track marks and bruising were discovered and it took everything the team had not to want to kill the man that had done it again themselves. It was recommended by the doctors not to leave him alone as the withdraw and shock could make his physical injuries worse. So that’s how the team, with the exception of Gideon, ended up in Reid’s apartment that night.

Reid’s body refuses to sleep whether from shock, the adrenaline still running through his system or the Dilaudin. That doesn’t stop the genius from lying down though. Just because he couldn’t sleep doesn’t mean he wasn’t exhausted. The team stood around watching him afraid to take their eyes off him. Afraid if they blink they will wake up again watching him still tied to that chair. Everyone’s been too afraid to touch him, scared after the way he flinched at every nurse and doctor that dared lay a finger on him. It’s at the 20-minute mark of watching him shake, either from the cold or from withdraw, that Morgan has enough. 

He walks over to the couch and gently lifts the top portion of Reid up so that he can slide underneath him so that the young genius is lying on his chest. 

Reid makes a noise of confusion and Morgan shushes him,

“Shh, shh, it’s ok Pretty Boy. I’ve got you. It’s ok. Lay back down,”

Reid, too tired to fight it, does as he’s told and relaxes on his side with his head against Morgan’s heartbeat while the older man wraps his arms around him. Hotch is the next one to take the venture and sits down on the edge of the couch and starts threading his hands through Reid’s hair. He hums a noise of contentment and closes his eyes but doesn’t fall asleep, so Hotch continues. He realizes just how close he came to losing the youngest member of his team that day. He can’t imagine his team, let alone the world, without their genius in it. He looks down at the doctor with tears in his eyes and that’s what breaks Emily from the sidelines where she and JJ have been watching the whole time. On her way she lightly grabs JJ’s hand and pulls her along. Emily sits crissed-crossed on the floor and starts rubbing Reid’s back. She knows she hasn’t been on the team long, but she has gotten weirdly attached, very quickly, to the young genius. It’s hard not to when he goes on a tangent and gets that excited look in his eyes. He reminds her of a hyper puppy. She never had a little brother but he sorta feels like one. She leans her head against Reid’s back, still rubbing it up and down, just wanting to have as much contact with him as possible and looks at JJ. It’s easy to read in her body language that she isn’t as comfortable as everyone else is with this, still doubting herself with the guilt of letting them split up. With a sympathetic look from Emily she too sits down in front of Reid’s legs. She starts gently massaging his calf muscles, careful to avoid the bandages wrapped around his left foot. 

Reid takes account of all the sensations from all the people surrounding him and ask a simple question, 

“Why?” His voice sounds rough and tired.

Morgan is the one that answers, 

“You scared us today, Baby Boy,”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Reid says, sounding exhausted with his eyes still closed.

“We’re worried about you, Spencer. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through in the last two days but watching you be beaten then killed while I had to stand there and not be able to do anything might be the worst thing I’ve ever had to endure,” Hotch surprisingly, in one of his rare moments of vulnerability, answers next. 

“Reid we almost lost you today and that reality was almost unbearable,” Emily says next. 

“You didn’t lose me and even if you had it’s not like it would have mattered. Nobody needs me,” says Reid.

“Is that really what you think?” starts Morgan sounding both anger and sad, “Do you really think so lowly of yourself that you think we wouldn’t miss you if you were gone? No. Those few minutes you were dead everyone’s worlds stopped. My anger almost overwhelmed me, Garcia’s tears almost suffocated her and Gideon had to step away to deal with the fact that he had failed his prodigy and he would never be able to apologize for it. You are the glue that holds this team together and when you died-“ He stop, choking back tears as a few break free and run down his face, not being able to continue. Emily reaches up and wipes them away. He leans his face into her hand needing any comfort he can get at that moment, so she keeps her hand there. She picks up,

“He’s right, Reid. We love you. You dying would have torn this team apart,”

“I didn’t know you all cared so much. And if Gideon cared so much why isn’t he here now?” Reid whispers.

“God Spence of course we care,” pipes up JJ for the first time all night, “And I think he feels guilty Reid. I know I do. I think we will all have to carry some guilt with us from tonight for a long time. Gideon feels guilty for putting someone so young in the field and I feel guilty for letting us split up. The only difference between me and him is how we deal with that guilt. I think he can’t bear to face you knowing he failed as a mentor and I can’t leave you to deal with this alone after I caused it,”

Reid reached back to grab JJ’s hand and give it a squeeze. 

“This isn’t your fault, JJ. I suggested we split up. I made my own choices. They might have been the wrong choices but they were all my own. The only person’s whose fault this is is Charles Hankle’s. You can’t let this eat you up inside J. You matter too much to let this be the thing that ruins you,”

JJ, overcome by Reid’s words, starts crying silent tears and leans her head on their combined hands, kissing his, just letting the tears run. He tugs her up so she is laying on Morgan’s other side squished into the back of the couch and wraps his arm around her and leans his forehead on hers as she cries. She mutters at him through the tears,

“I love you. I love you so much,”

Hotch speaks up again, “We all do. We aren’t leaving you alone tonight or through any of this. We’ll be strong when you can’t. Lean on us. We’ve got you,”

“Thank you,” Reid says his voice cracking with emotion, “God I’m so tired,” he adds. 

“Ok it’s bedtime,” Morgan says starting to slowly extract himself from the dogpile and gently nudging JJ up as well. As Reid starts to move though Derek stops him. 

“Oh no, pretty boy. You aren’t doing anything tonight. You’ve got a pretty bad concussion and we can’t even start to talk about that foot. No, you let us take care of you,”

“Ok,” Reid says, not feel the need to protest. At that Morgan picks him up under his arms and knees and carries him into the bedroom, the others trailing behind. Morgan lays him on the bed and leaves again to go grab all their go bags. While he does that Hotch starts to undress Spencer starting at his socks as JJ pulls the sweater over his head. All the while Emily is rummaging through his drawers trying to find his sleep clothes. JJ starts to unbutton his shirt while Hotch starts on his pants and when Emily finds his sleep clothes she lays them on the bed. When Morgan walks back in, she takes her go bag from him. She starts to undress with no shame, as does Morgan. 

“This doesn’t bother you at all? Seeing your coworkers naked? Seeing me naked?” Reid speaks up but makes no move to stop JJ or Hotch. 

“No, not really. I think it’s been to long and stressful of a day to care about little things like some nudity right now,” says Hotch as he pulls pajama pants on the too thin body. Reid makes a noise of agreement and shrugs as JJ pulls his night shirt on him and drags him so he’s under the covers. Once everyone’s changed into their pjs they cuddle in next to Reid. Morgan is on Spencer’s right on his side with his arm across his chest and his head pressed into Spencer’s forehead. Emily is behind Morgan, also on her side with her leg over Morgan’s so that is rest on Reid’s with her arm laid on Morgan’s and her head pressed into his neck. On Spencer’s left is JJ. She’s curled into his side with her head on his bicep. Hotch is the final one in bed and is on JJ’s other side. His face is resting in her hair while one hand slowly caresses Spencer’s cheek. Spencer’s hand massages where he can reach on Hotch’s head. Their feet tangle together at the bottom of the bed and they all fall asleep feeling warm, safe and loved. And while Spencer may wake up a few times that night from nightmares someone is always there to quickly shush him back to a peaceful slumber.


End file.
